RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner has admitted he lost some of the fun while playing at Chelsea and believes Thomas Tuchel’s tactics were to blame.
The German striker completed a move to the Bundesliga side earlier this summer, bringing an end to a disappointing two-year spell in London.
He had arrived at the club in a £47.7m deal from Leipzig in 2020 after shining in Germany, where he scored 96 goals and registered 40 assists in 160 games for Leipzig.
Unfortunately, Werner couldn’t replicate that for Chelsea, though, managing 23 goals and 21 assists in 89 games for the club in all competitions.
That would have been the case this season also, meaning the 26-year-old was at risk of missing out on a place in Hansi Flick’s core plans for the World Cup in Qatar this winter.
He’s now hoping to be a regular star for Leipzig again this season, although for him the focus is also on enjoying playing the game once again.
“For me, the fun of playing football is in the foreground,” he told the Einfach mal Luppen podcast, relayed by Sport 1.
“Of course, I had great success at Chelsea, but the fun got a bit lost in the end because I didn’t play regularly anymore.
“I think the coach’s system of play didn’t suit me perfectly. That’s why it was clear to me that I wanted to take a new step. I’m at an age where I want to play as much as I can.
“I really associate very great successes with Chelsea – the greatest of my career. It will always be a special club for me. I will also stay in touch with many of the players from the team.”
